UC Regents Dubious About New Admissions Proposal / Plan would admit top 4% from each state high school

Pamela Burdman, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Friday, May 15, 1998

1998-05-15 04:00:00 PDT Los Angeles -- Skepticism reigned supreme yesterday as the University of California regents considered a proposal to reserve seats in the university for students who finish in the top 4 percent of their graduating class, regardless of where they go to high school.

The chief concern of the regents, meeting at UCLA, seemed to be that UC would bring in students who are not fully prepared to tackle its rigorous course load.

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"I don't think any of us want to be stampeded by the political process. Before we close escrow on this, you've got to give us more reassurance that quality's not going to be affected."

Widaman said his committee believes that students in the top 4 percent are strong enough academically to succeed at UC, but he stressed that the proposal is a pilot project that will have to be monitored over several years.

In July, the regents will vote on the proposal, which would increase the proportion of UC-eligible students to the state-mandated 12.5 percent level without disqualifying any students who are currently eligible. The plan has the backing of many UC administrators, including President Richard Atkinson.

UC's new color-blind admissions policy and the resulting declines in black and Latino admissions at most campuses were the impetus for tinkering with admissions requirements. But Widaman said the plan is likely to have only a modest effect on diversity -- increasing blacks and Latinos from 11 to 12 percent of those students who would be guaranteed a spot at one UC campus.

Widaman said the plan would have the greatest effect on those schools that traditionally send very few of their graduates to UC.

"It isn't because the students are bad," he said. "It's because they don't have UC in their sights. This is a way of reaching out to them."

Although some regents thought the plan went too far, UC is under pressure to go beyond the 4 percent proposal. A reminder of that came during the meeting when about 40 UCLA students briefly disrupted the session with chants of "educate, don't segregate."

State Senator Teresa Hughes, a Southern California Democrat, has drafted a constitutional amendment that would require admission of the top 12.5 percent of students from each high school. Currently, under the state's master plan, UC admits the top 12.5 percent statewide.

To qualify as UC Merit Scholars under the new proposal, students would have to achieve the highest grade point average in a prescribed pattern of courses in their first three years of high school. They would also have to take the SAT, although their scores would count only for statistical purposes. Widaman estimated that only one-third of the top 4 percent, or about 3,600 students, would be students who otherwise would not be eligible to attend UC.

For admission to selective campuses such as UCLA and Berkeley, students still would face stiffer competition. Those campuses would continue to look at SAT scores and other signs of a student's achievements and potential.

Some regents worried that the policy could send the wrong message, however.

Said Regent Tom Sayles, "I think it may cause more problems than it solves. Do we want parents . . . shopping for less- competitive schools to get their kids into the university? I want students put in the most demanding situation they can be in."

Regent David Lee was also skeptical. "If you give them a title of UC Merit Scholar and they're not even qualified, aren't we cheapening the UC image?" he asked. "It doesn't make sense to me."